While I find this article shocking to say the least, I have to wonder where all the focus is on addressing the behaviour of young males in this epidemic. The title of the article is why young GIRLS are having sex at 12. It should be young KIDS. Why is it that young girls are always portayed as the guardians of sexual morality in the media. It takes two to tango.

And if there is so much exposure to porn on the internet available to kids then where the hell are the parents and why are they allowing their teens unsupervised access to the internet? If I was a parent there would be ONE computer in the house, situated in the lounge room, and it would only be on when every one was home in the lounge room. It would also have parental locks and restrictions. And if my kids had mobile phones (and that's a mighty big IF) there would be WAP/web access barring on it.

But this is what I'm talking about. I'm not sure how old you are now and how long ago you were fourteen, but children's exposure to today's sex-saturated media should be severely limited if not completely restricted. It's ruining them and putting warped ideas in their heads. It's also giving them completely inaccurate and false portayals of sex and how their bodies work.

I've been called 'too strict' for my above-stated views on parenting. I've also been shot down for my views on parenting based on the fact I don't have children.

I'm 18 and I'm a virgin. I'm not ashamed to admit it, but I will say that I am definitely in the minority in my grade, as most girls lost it by sophomore year. Most of the boys, too, now that I think about it...

It's strange, because I know that I'm not emotionally ready to do it and I want it to happen with someone I love, but the overwhelming majority of girls I've talked to just saw it as something to "get it over and done with" and told me to "pick some random guy...it's not like you'll have an obligation to talk to him again,". I just don't understand my generation.

I've read your posted article and it's absolutely preposterous. I agree that young women too often carry the entirely of the weight of modern sexual immorality. But not even on SF I do not see much regard for what kind of girls SFers' sons date, however there is a plethora of remarks along the lines of, "we need to protect our daughters" and "we need to pick good husbands for them." and "If my son dates an Asian chick I'll be mad, but if my daughter dates a negro I'm banishing her from the family." Good grief. However, Galactica71, I think you also have the wrong mindset with this:

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And if there is so much exposure to porn on the internet available to kids then where the hell are the parents and why are they allowing their teens unsupervised access to the internet? If I was a parent there would be ONE computer in the house, situated in the lounge room, and it would only be on when every one was home in the lounge room. It would also have parental locks and restrictions. And if my kids had mobile phones (and that's a mighty big IF) there would be WAP/web access barring on it.

12 years old is not a child in every sense of the word. Deep consciousness starts increasing exponentially even before then. You cannot treat a young adult like a mule or a small child, monitoring every single thing they do online, creeping over their shoulder, and web barring is just ridiculous in this day in age. Perhaps your parents treated you like this, perhaps you felt your good nature is owed to their authoritarian approach. However, this also makes you as the parental authority the same as an overbearing government. Your children will only grow to detest and hate you for this.

There are lots of reasons parental locks are just counterproductive. Why would a 12-18 year old be on the computer "unsupervised"? Maybe she has a question she feels uncomfortable asking you. Maybe she has a schoolwork/research. Maybe she wants to visit a "radical" website like this (which would no doubt be blocked by those stupid filters). She will be at an extreme disadvantage, academically, socially and economically, especially say approximately 13 years from now, when all of her peers would be experts in every aspect of the internet/mobile devices. Have you given that a thought? Why do you automatically assume your own daughter will jump at the chance to see hardcore porn at the first opportunity? Geeze. Have a little faith, all of you!

Perhaps I do not have a right to say this, because like yourself, I am also childless. However, I was not raised in an oppressive household. I stayed home alone since 4 (to Americans this seems inconceivable), I drank wine and champagne since 10 on holidays, I had liberty to go to and fro, live abroad, and had absolutely none of my internet privacy invaded. My fiance was raised in a similar situation, and look at us, both virgins until the wedding, even stricter standards for ourselves than our parents. This was not accomplished in ridiculous house rules, but the attitudes and behaviors of our parents and elders, unspoken undertones of what was right and wrong, and innate morality. You can receive help from church, community, whatever, but in the end, you as a parent have the responsibility for your sons and daughters, not an internet filter.

12 years old is not a child in every sense of the word. Deep consciousness starts increasing exponentially even before then. You cannot treat a young adult like a mule or a small child, monitoring every single thing they do online, creeping over their shoulder, and web barring is just ridiculous in this day in age. Perhaps your parents treated you like this, perhaps you felt your good nature is owed to their authoritarian approach. However, this also makes you as the parental authority the same as an overbearing government. Your children will only grow to detest and hate you for this.

There are lots of reasons parental locks are just counterproductive. Why would a 12-18 year old be on the computer "unsupervised"? Maybe she has a question she feels uncomfortable asking you. Maybe she has a schoolwork/research. Maybe she wants to visit a "radical" website like this (which would no doubt be blocked by those stupid filters). She will be at an extreme disadvantage, academically, socially and economically, especially say approximately 13 years from now, when all of her peers would be experts in every aspect of the internet/mobile devices. Have you given that a thought? Why do you automatically assume your own daughter will jump at the chance to see hardcore porn at the first opportunity? Geeze. Have a little faith, all of you!

As long as a child lives at home they must respect the rules of their parents. Internet access is a privilege, not a right. Without the wages of the parents there would be no computers or internet access after all.
If I had a daughter who felt she could not come to me with a question, at 12 years old I would be concerned. You shouldn't be hiding stuff from your mother at 12, being 12 is not the same as being 15 0r 16.
There is also the issue of safety, your daughter may not jump at the chance to see porn, but their are perverts who will jump at the chance to send her porn. Child grooming online is a very real danger.
My mother was strict about such things, it did not detract from her love for me & there is no way I hated her, so why should my kids hate me? We're not all born to be rebels y'know.
As for being disadvantaged technically, most devices come with operating instructions. Academically, information can still be found in books, usually more reliable information. Socially she could be 'disadvantaged' i.e. not 'cool' for not dating blacks or listening to hip-hop, its just part of thinking for yourself instead of following the herd.